This application pertains to the art of aging wine or the like, and more particularly to a device for aging wine in non-wooden impervious containers in order to obtain substantially the same aging qualities as are obtained in a wooden cask.
Many arrangements and devices have been proposed for aging wine or the like in impervious non-wooden containers in an attempt to obtain aging qualities similar to those obtained in a wooden cask. U.S. Pat. No. 429,826, issued June 10, 1890, to Wagoner discloses an arrangement wherein high pressure air is forced through a porous plug positioned in a wine container. The porous plug of Wagoner is disclosed as being made of California redwood and its walls are very thin. The Wagoner device requires high pressure in order to keep the wine from entering the hollow porous plug. Forcing air under high pressure into wine or the like provides oxygen diffusion at too rapid a rate and undesirable qualities are imparted to the wine. Diffusion of oxygen into wine, and diffusion of carbon dioxide out of the wine, must be carried on at a very slow rate in order to prevent formation of undesirable compounds in the wine.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,108,661, issued Feb. 15, 1938, to Farrier discloses an arrangement wherein a wooden plug member is sufficiently porous so that liquid in the container may seep therethrough into an internal bore. Such an arrangement is undesirable because a large surface area must be provided in order to obtain desirable diffusion and evaporation rates. In addition, Farrier has a lateral hole through his dowel near the neck of the bottle. Such a hole prevents diffusion through the wood itself and will not provide properr aging.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,114,009, issued Apr. 12, 1938, to Ramsay discloses an arrangement wherein a wooden dowel has a bore which is completely open at the bottom end of the dowel and a plurality of longitudinally-spaced lateral bores are formed through the dowel intersecting the longitudinal bore. Such an arrangement does not allow diffusion and evaporation through the wood itself and desirable aging properties cannot be obtained.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,203,229, issued June 4, 1940, to Nilsson discloses a plurality of different embodiments, and in FIG. 5 discloses an arrangement wherein a wooden dowel has a blind longitudinal bore therein for obtaining diffusion and evaporation through the dowel itself.